In Memoriam: Lena Ivette Santillana, 1968-2016

Lena Santillana, a long-time faculty and staff member of Middlebury College’s School Abroad in Spain, died in Madrid on August 30, after a long illness. She was 48 years old.

A native of Cuba, Santillana was a graduate of Walla Walla College in Washington State, where she majored in German and history. She earned a master’s degree in Spanish from Middlebury College.

Santillana was named assistant director of the School Abroad in Spain shortly after earning her master’s degree. She held this post for the remainder of her career. She taught at the Spanish School on the Middlebury College campus in Vermont from 2005 to 2013. And she taught a graduate course at the School Abroad in Spain from 2007 to 2010.